Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
BBC News poll: Optimism fades in Iraq / Politics / Iraq War
By: John_York
A nationwide opinion poll in Iraq conducted by BBC News suggests that people feel more insecure and increasingly pessimistic about the future of the country since a similar poll was conducted in 2005.
However, most do not believe that there is civil war in Iraq and only 17% of households polled had family members who were direct victims of violence.
Some key findings are:
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Monday, March 19, 2007
UK Supermarkets to Open GP Surgeries in Stores - Start of a Trend / Politics / NHS
By: Nadeem_Walayat
UK Health Minister, Patricia Hewitt is expected to announce later today that GP surgeries are expected to open in supermarkets and high street stores, due to many areas of the UK experiencing unreliable GP services and access.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Doctors Protest, whilst patients suffer due to NHS Out of Hours Fiasco / Politics / NHS
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Junior doctors protest in Glasgow over the recently introduced recruitment tests for specialist training posts. Effectively making the tests harder than in years gone post so one would assume that only the more capable would be selected for the posts.
Because of this junior doctors are protesting in an attempt at trying to trivialise the tests due to the extra depth covered during the testing process.
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Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The State of the Earth - War, Debt and Poverty / Politics / Emerging Markets
By: Anwaar_Hussain
In 1 AD, we humans were estimated to be around 300,000,000. In 1850, we first passed the 1 billion mark. We were 3.9 billion on January 1 of 1970 and today we number 6.9 billion. Our plunder of mother earth and our mutual murder has increased by a direct proportion to the increase in our numbers over the eons.
War talk is on the wind once again. The feverish frenzy to kill each other is soon going to overtake us. Man will exult in the blood of man in the mad race for the left over resources in the innards of the earth.
It is time for a State of the Earth report.
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Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Case of the Meddling Iranians in Iraq / Politics / Iran
By: Anwaar_Hussain
For more than 18 months now, the George W. Bush administration has periodically raised the charge that Iran is meddling in Iraq . US defense officials recently displayed “Explosively Formed Projectiles” and heat sensitive detectors allegedly required for their remote detonation. To further buttress the ‘meddling' charge, the Americans also claimed to have arrested some ‘Iranian provocateurs', including two diplomats.
That, sirs, is not meddling.
Iranians share close to a thousand miles long border with Iraq , have fought a 9- year long bloody war with that country and with whom they share not just a problematic past but the chief religion of their citizenry too.
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Monday, March 12, 2007
Britain's NHS - One of the the worst health services in Western Europe - How it can be fixed / Politics / NHS
By: Nadeem_Walayat
A tripling in annual NHS budget to £110 billions, and Britain is still inflicted with the worst health care in Western Europe. Even the BMA admits that 2006 was a bad year for the NHS, and with budgets increasingly being allocated from patient heath care to pay NHS employee pay rises, 2007 looks set to be an even worse year.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Global GeoPolitical Realignment and the Decline of the USA as a Superpower / Politics / Iraq War
By: Mike_Whitney
The United States has been defeated in Iraq. That doesn't mean that there'll be a troop withdrawal anytime soon, but it does mean that there's no chance of achieving the mission's political objectives. Iraq will not be a democracy, reconstruction will be minimal, and the security situation will continue to deteriorate into the foreseeable future.
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007
The United States of Apathy - Less than half of eligible voters, vote in US Elections / Politics / US Politics
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
American: So you mean that if you Australians don't vote, you get a fine?Australian: Yeah, and when you Americans don't vote you get George W. Bush.
As surely as politicians lie, citizen apathy produces democracy atrophy. Much more than a right – in a democracy voting is an irrevocable civic duty. No mental gymnastics can help you jump over this ugly reality: Voter turnout over all American elections averages markedly less than half of eligible voters. This disgrace must be fixed.
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Operation FALCON - The USA is turning into a Police State / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
On 29th June, 1934, Chancellor Adolph Hitler, accompanied by the Schutzstaffel (SS), arrived at Wiesse, where he personally arrested the leader of the Strum Abteilung (SA), Ernnst Roehm. During the next 24 hours 200 other senior SA officers were arrested on the way to Wiesse. Many were shot as soon as they were captured but Hitler decided to pardon Roehm because of his past service to the movement. However, after much pressure from Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler, Hitler agreed that Roehm should die. At first Hitler insisted that Roehm should be allowed to commit suicide but, when he refused, Roehm was shot by two SS men. (Spartacus.schoolnet.co)
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
US Class War - Slavery through Consumption & Debt to Serve the Elite / Politics / Social Issues
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
The motto of the United States of Consumption is “In More We Trust.” The contribution of American culture to humanity is consumption obsession. Our epidemic of obesity, our land gluttonous suburban sprawl, our monster-size environmental footprint, our ravenous automobile addiction, and our heartless greed are symptoms of a deep-seated, sick mental state that keeps the economy humming. And it keeps increasing economic inequality and apartheid. Mass consumption is also a distraction from the self-inflicted defeat facing working- and middle-class Americans in the class war they are losing. Americans are enslaving themselves with their spending and delusional prosperity. The rich and super-rich in their McMansions, luxury cars, yachts, swank spas and private jets surely are laughing at how easy it is to manipulate the 80 percent of the population that keeps enriching them. Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 26, 2007
Barack Hussein Obama - The Democratic Messiah? / Politics / US Politics
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
What a wonderful political distraction is Senator Barack Hussein Obama. Perhaps a good part of his attractiveness is that he is in so many ways the complete opposite of George W. Bush. Yet, what amazes me is how our bipartisan obstacle to true political competition continually creates illusions of change and reform. Thus it keeps a grip on Americans' hope for the future, and preempts public support for more profound political change. Is Obama just another example of how our corrupt political system ingeniously creates candidates to keep hope alive? Is the self-professed progressive Obama the real thing? Is he something other than a conventional politician? I have read many of his speeches and other statements. I applaud his upbeat rhetoric, but few policy details are given. Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Iran launches rocket into Space - As risks of a US attack against Iran increase / Politics / Iran
By: John_York
Iran flexed its muscles following Iran's objections to the UN Security Councils declaration of 21st Feb concerning Iran's nuclear programme, by launching a rocket into sub-orbital altitude. Iranian State television reported that the rocket had achieved an altitude of 94 miles before falling back to earth. The internationally recognised boundary between the atmosphere and space is some 65 miles.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Foreclosure USA - US Housing Bust, Debt and Democracy Lost / Politics / US Housing
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
We the people once owned our democracy. We elected "representatives" to run it for US. Have you noticed? Somewhere along the way we lost our democracy. It was foreclosed by wealthy and power elites that corrupted our "representatives" who literally sold us out. Our homeland was foreclosed right in plain sight. Sure, we citizens still reside in the USA, but we no longer own our democracy. We pay rent through our taxes. But we no longer have any equity. Our democracy is owned by the rich, and their partner foreign elites and governments, which is why in a strict sense it no longer is a democracy, but rather a plutocracy. Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Save our NHS from Privitisation ..... Why ? / Politics / NHS
By: Nadeem_Walayat
In a week when statistics of deaths from NHS hospital infections continued to soar from a number of 'Super Bugs'. They may be super bugs in the UK, but do not even appear on the radar in many other countries.
Deaths in UK NHS hospitals from so called super bugs such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile continue to soar by nearly 70%, totaling over 5,400 deaths in 1 year. The NHS is well on the path to becoming one of Britians biggest killers.
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Friday, February 23, 2007
Economic Inequality in the USA Reaches New Extremes / Politics / US Politics
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
Rising American economic inequality has received attention by Senator Jim Webb, presidential candidate John Edwards, CNN’s maverick Lou Dobbs, and others. The middle class has not shared in rising national prosperity, because the nation’s wealth has been siphoned off to the richest Americans. Some elites are nervous. They have attacked what are pejoratively called “neopopulists” – people who say the middle class is under siege.
Surprisingly, the attack and economic propaganda have come from the relatively unknown Third Way group that is associated with the Democratic Leadership Council. Why would self-proclaimed progressives and centrists put out a report that says the whole economic inequality story is bogus?
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Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Tony Blair Starts UK Withdrawal of British Troops from Southern Iraq / Politics / Iraq War
By: John_York
Tony Blair has announced plans to reduce British forces in Iraq by 1600, or approximately 25% to 5,500, with further withdrawals planned during 2007 to bring the UK's troop presence to below 5000.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
The Axis of Evil shrinks by one, North Korea, will Iran be next ? / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
The Bush foreign policy is predicated on one simple axiom: “We will stop the world's most dangerous men from getting their hands on the world's most dangerous weapons”. By that standard, Bush's dealings with North Korea havebeen a wretched failure. After 6 years of fruitless saber rattling and belligerence, the North detonated a nuclear bomb in early October and put region on notice that there's a new member in the nuclear weapons club.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 09, 2007
Bush backs down to Nuclear North Korea as US Drops Sanctions / Politics / North Korea
By: Mike_Whitney
There's been plenty of saber rattling and bold talk about forcing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, but after a 6 year standoff, Bush has decided to give in to Kim Jung Il's demands. The western media is characterizing the new developments as a “breakthrough”, but, in fact, Bush has retreated on every issue of consequence. It is as close to a total foreign policy failure as one can possibly imagine. Nothing has been achieved. The bottom line is this; Kim refused to budge from his original position, while Bush completely capitulated on his.
“The US has talked tough without achieving anything.” Han Seung-Joo, South Korea's former foreign minister (UK Guardian)
Thursday, February 08, 2007
How US Citizens are Sacrificing for the Iraq War - Cost / Politics / Iraq War
By: Dr_Martenson
“The average American has not been asked to sacrifice for the Iraq war…”
At least once a week for the past few years I've heard some version of the above quote and it implies that the average person has not been inconvenienced in any way by the war. Both the left and the right go to great lengths to perpetuate this illusion of no sacrifice while using the statement to fulfill whatever partisan goal they are currently chasing. Such vacuous statements leave me breathless mainly because they are so explosively ignorant that they suck all of the oxygen out of the air.
Every single person in America that uses money has sacrificed for this war. Anybody with savings, income, investments or who has bought anything over the past three years has sacrificed a significant portion of that money because of inflation brought on by excessive government spending on the Iraq War.
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Monday, February 05, 2007
Military Surge in Iraq could push US into War with Iran / Politics / Iran
By: Mike_Whitney
“If the United States continues to be bogged down in a protracted, bloody involvement in Iraq, the final destination on this downhill track is likely to be a head-on conflict with Iran and with much of the world of Islam at large.” Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security advisor to President Jimmy Carter
No one has done more to expand Iran’s power in the region than George Bush. He routed the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001 and then toppled Saddam and the Ba’athist Party in 2003. Both of these were the traditional enemies of the Islamic Republic. Now Bush has installed Iranian-backed warlords in the Green Zone and delivered the country to the Shiites.
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